Trial for torture in Liberia begins

Ex-president's son charged as U.S. citizen

September 30, 2008|By Vanessa Blum Staff Writer

MIAMI — An American citizen raised in Florida led a Liberian paramilitary squad that beheaded men, burned their flesh and committed other acts of illegal torture, a prosecutor told jurors Monday in Miami federal court.

Charles McArthur Emmanuel, 31, also known as Chuckie Taylor, ordered the execution and abuse of prisoners as head of his West African nation's dreaded Demon Forces, prosecutor Christopher Graveline said in an opening statement.

Emmanuel, who has pleaded not guilty, is the son of former Liberian president Charles Taylor. The case marks the first prosecution under a 14-year-old law criminalizing acts of torture committed outside U.S. borders. If convicted, Emmanuel faces life in prison.

Graveline said Emmanuel used torture to intimidate his father's political enemies and keep the regime in power.

"There are men who live today with the scars this man left on their bodies," Graveline said.

Defense lawyer John Wylie said the witnesses accusing Emmanuel of such atrocities made up their stories to escape lives of desperation, disease and poverty in Liberia. "We're going to prove to you that Mr. Emmanuel did not do these things," Wylie said.

U.S. agents arrested Emmanuel in March 2006 at Miami International Airport.

Elise Keppler, a senior lawyer with Human Rights Watch, said his trial sends an important message: "The United States will not be a refuge for those who commit torture abroad."